La Gaceta Newspaper

Jane Hernandez

As a University of Tampa graduate, one of Jane Hernandez’s greatest passions is the restoration and preservation of the Henry B. Plant Hall on campus.
For the past 16 years, she’s been a member of The Chiselers, an organization that was founded in 1959 and is dedicated to raising funds – hundreds of thousands of dollars each year – to restore the historic building, and now serves as the group’s president.
Plant Hall was initially built between 1888 and 1891 by railroad magnate Henry B. Plant as the Tampa Bay Hotel. Today, it’s home to classrooms, UT administrative offices and the Henry B. Plant Museum, and is a designated National Historic Landmark.
“That building, while the university is living there, using it, it belongs to the city of Tampa. We all have a lot of love for that building,” she said. “People stop in front of it, take photos outside it. Tour buses pass it. It is a landmark for us living here and you just wouldn’t want to see anything happen to it.”
The organization’s signature annual fundraiser, the Chiselers Market at Plant Hall, kicks off March 14 with presale access with the market open to the public on March 15. Bidding on a companion online auction starts March 8.
When they were young teens, Hernandez’s parents – her father from Detroit, her mother from Knoxville – moved to Tampa, where they met and eventually married. A graduate of Hillsborough County Public Schools, she has spent her entire life living in South Tampa.
Her father was a banker and she worked in banking while studying political science at the University of Tampa. After earning her degree, she worked briefly for Seminole Electric Co-op before returning to banking, taking a job at the Bank of Tampa.
Hernandez spent 28 years with the Bank of Tampa, mostly in employee communications, before retiring in 2022.
She learned about the Chiselers through her work at the bank, which encouraged employees to be involved in the community. A coworker and friend who was a member of the group told her about it. “She said, ‘I think you’d be really interested in this,’” Hernandez said. “So, I started volunteering and felt, yeah, this is a good home for me.”
The organization aligned with her love for the University of Tampa and the city’s rich history. “I love the school and felt passionate about how important that building was – not just to the university, but to the city of Tampa,” she said. “It’s a symbol of the city and what got this city started.”
The Chiselers work closely with the university “to make sure nothing happens to” Plant Hall.
Work on the historic building is “just unending – like any old house,” she added. “The building is ¼-mile long, five stories high and over a hundred years old. It’s got a lot of work that it needs.”
Hernandez anticipates that about $140 to 150 million will be needed to complete all the work that needs to be done in the next 10 to 20 years. “The tough thing is you can’t close the building, even if you could raise all that money at once,” she said. “Projects have to be done in a manner that can keep the building going and working. We do projects that affect one area at a time to keep things going each year.”
Currently, critical foundation work is being completed at Plant Hall. The project is funded by two Hillsborough County grants totaling about $375,000 and additional funds from the Chiselers to bring the total amount to $1 million.
Another major project on the horizon is restoration work to the east veranda, which faces the Hillsborough River. “It’s so spectacular when you drive in and see that front facade,” Hernandez said. “There’s a ton of work there that needs to be done top down from the roof downspouts, which are inadequate and causing problems with intrusion.”
The floor’s decking is also “not pitched correctly and needs to be redone to take care of water intrusion,” she said. “That’s a real huge problem there for the building. We’re trying to solve all those kinds of issues. That’s why the money is as big as it is. We’re trying to get to the root and correct that and keep it going.
Last year’s Chiselers Market raised about $170,000 and the organization hopes to bring in just as much at its upcoming sale. The group collects donated items this year that are available to purchase at the market – everything from furniture and lamps to jewelry, books, and art to kitchenware and China. “We have a lot of silver this year, which is fabulous,” Hernandez said. “A lot of art, too. There’s really great fun things as far as collectibles.”
The online silent auction opens March 8 and people will be able to bid on specific items in the week leading up to in-person sale.
This is the first year the organization is offering a ticketed pre-sale access to the market. Tickets are $25 in advance and $35 at the door and allow people “to come in and shop before the crowds,” she said.
The Chiselers are also introducing a new fundraising event this year – Chiseling a Legacy, a dinner for preservation, on April 11. “It’s brand new. We haven’t done it before,” Hernandez said. “We felt we needed an opportunity to have an event where we could share with donors what is happening (at Plant Hall) and what is still needed and also thank them.”